“Perry Reflexing” a self bow...

[Tommy D]

A sort of hypothetical question - what would happen if you cut the back off a self bow and glued it back with some back set/ Perry reflex?

Would you see some substantial improvement in performance (all else being equal)?

[Selfbowman]

Probably not. Just heat the reflex into the bow blank.

[RyanY]

The effort/performance gain ratio likely isn’t any different than perry reflexing two different pieces of wood. The advantage might be having a nice clean backing if using a stave but straight grain backings offer just as much protection.

[Tommy D]

It was more me imagining a very “primitive looking” bow with backed bow performance

[scp]

The cutting kerf in the whole limb will reduce the draw weight substantially. Not sure you can recover it through glued-in pre-stressed reflex. If you have long stiff tips, it might an interesting idea to make a kerf cut there and glue-in the recurve, possibly turning it into a working recurve.

[PatM]

You'd see the same benefits because it's the same thing. 

[bownarra]

The cutting kerf in the whole limb will reduce the draw weight substantially. Not sure you can recover it through glued-in pre-stressed reflex. If you have long stiff tips, it might an interesting idea to make a kerf cut there and glue-in the recurve, possibly turning it into a working recurve.

You wouldn't do it to a tillered bow

[PatM]

I guess people might take the process a bit too literally. 

[mmattockx]

You'd see the same benefits because it's the same thing.

+1. This assumes the wood is tension strong, but that is the case for the vast majority of our bow woods.


Mark

[SLIMBOB]

Seems like a question from the "what if department".  Just my opinion, but so much work involved, and you would achieve very little.  Better to simply take a board and cut 2 lams from it.  Now fit them back together and add your Perry reflex, and build a bow.  Much less work involved.  You wont have a Self bow in either scenario, but you will have a chance to see what that kind of reflex adds, and some of the complexities involved.

[gutpile]

I have a 4 inch PVC pipe set up made for just this.. rough out bow.. put whole stave in pipe.. have jig ready... steam.. clamp let cool...done.. gut

[mmattockx]

Better to simply take a board and cut 2 lams from it.  Now fit them back together and add your Perry reflex, and build a bow. 

This is my understanding of what OP is talking about. Not taking a finished bow and then cutting the back off, but really making a Perry reflexed bow out of one piece of wood to start with instead of mixing different woods. Perhaps I misunderstood his intentions.

I have a 4 inch PVC pipe set up made for just this.. rough out bow.. put whole stave in pipe.. have jig ready... steam.. clamp let cool...done.. gut

That is not Perry reflex.


Mark

[gutpile]

I understand perry reflex is gluing up a deflex reflex bow .. with a laminate backing.. I was giving an answer to how to get the shape of perry reflex without gluing a back on.. gut

[Tommy D]

Better to simply take a board and cut 2 lams from it.  Now fit them back together and add your Perry reflex, and build a bow. 

This is my understanding of what OP is talking about. Not taking a finished bow and then cutting the back off, but really making a Perry reflexed bow out of one piece of wood to start with instead of mixing different woods. Perhaps I misunderstood his intentions.

Yes - there would be no point doing it to an already tillered self-bow; but a roughed out stave was what I was thinking.

I understand perry reflex is gluing up a deflex reflex bow .. with a laminate backing.. I was giving an answer to how to get the shape of perry reflex without gluing a back on.. gut

My understanding - and I stand to be corrected - is that gluing in so called “Perry reflex” adds something more than you would simply get by creating that profile through steaming?

[mmattockx]

I understand perry reflex is gluing up a deflex reflex bow .. with a laminate backing.. I was giving an answer to how to get the shape of perry reflex without gluing a back on.. gut

Perry reflexing does more than just provide the final side profile, it lowers stresses in the belly wood and usually increases performance. Bending reflex in doesn't provide these benefits.

My understanding - and I stand to be corrected - is that gluing in so called “Perry reflex” adds something more than you would simply get by creating that profile through steaming?

Yes, correct.


Mark